Tuesday
May 14
Pint of Science Festival
Doors open 19.30, start event 20.00, tickets for sale here.
Food, feed, fun and fiber, how to turn weeds into sustainable crops?
FRANK TAKKEN (Associate professor)
About the speaker: Frank Takken is an Associate professor in the Molecular Plant Pathology group at the Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. Since his PhD (1999 from the Vrije University of Amsterdam) he has been interested in how plants defend themselves against pathogens and how pathogens manipulate plants to evade its immune systems and cause disease. As the main model crop his research team works primarily with tomatoes because of its great genetic tools and its importance for Dutch agriculture. Frank enjoys plants in and outside the lab and he is particularly enthusiastic about gardening, caring for his vegetables and ornamentals in one of Amsterdam’s garden communities.
About the talk: Plants form the basis of all life on earth and human civilization. Farmers started to domesticate crops around 8,000 BC by selecting and replanting seeds from plants that had the best characteristics . Although nowadays this process has been accelerated by targeted crossbreeding, the basis of breeding remains the same: mixing the DNA, the genetic material, from different plants and then continuing to grow the plants that show the traits you want to see. . However, recent breakthroughs allow breeders to more accurately introduce genetic changes and predict the effects of these changes. Despite these advancements, crops face constant threats from evolving diseases and pests, combined with climate change this poses significant challenges to agriculture. To fend of pests, humans have been using pesticides for centuries. However, pesticides affect more than just the plant-pests we use them for. If we want to use less pesticides, we need to better understand the interaction between plants and their pathogens. By developing crops that cannot be infected with pathogens, we can reduce the amount of pesticide used to grow our crops. In this talk, Dr. Frank Takken will explain, through several examples, the fundamentals of plant breeding and will also discuss some strategies for its enhancement to meet the challenges of tomorrow’s agriculture.
SaladGPT – towards future plants using Artificial Intelligence
AALT-JAN VAN DIJK (Professor)
About the speaker: In March 2024, Aalt-Jan van Dijk commenced his role as a professor of Data Analysis in the Life Sciences within the Biosystems Data Analysis group of the Swammerdam Institute at the University of Amsterdam. Prior to this, he held a position in the Bioinformatics group at Wageningen University. He has extensive experience in the development and application of machine learning approaches to address life sciences questions, with a focus on research questions within plant science.
About the talk: In my talk, I’ll explore how Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are shaping plant breeding and biotechnology. I’ll begin with an easy-to-understand explanation of AI and ML, using familiar examples from everyday life. Then, I’ll delve into how these technologies are applied in plant science, highlighting two examples from my own research: predicting properties of plant DNA and of plant proteins using ML. Finally, I’ll touch upon generative AI, a cutting-edge technology which is used for example in ChatGPT. Generative AI is now being employed in biological sciences and holds promise for enhancing plant breeding and biotechnology.